Tips To Making it in MMA

For many, mixed martial arts is a fun spectator sport best enjoyed on a
flat screen at the local sports bar accompanied by good friends and cold
beer. But for those who practice the sport, it is a physically
demanding, psychologically grueling endurance match. Nothing tests a
person’s will quite like being thrown to the mat and being forced to
decide between rising to the occasion or tapping out. Yet despite the
brutal nature of mixed martial arts, more and more young people are
throwing their hats in the octagon and giving it a go.

It
makes sense. Even practicing mixed martial arts in an amateur capacity
will often take a person to peak physical condition. But this, as with
anything else in life, requires a firm commitment on the part of the
participant. There are no easy roads, especially in a world known for
ground-and-pound savagery and near-lethal striking combinations. But the
point is there are roads – roads that lead from anonymity to MMA glory.

Here are some tips to staying on these roads and seeing it all through to the end.

Choose a gym

Sounds
like a no-brainer, but those who are serious about eventually stepping
into the octagon and competing on a professional level are going to need
to put a lot of thought into their gym. That’s because it will function
as a second home. For this reason alone, price should not be an issue,
as long as the exorbitant per-month fee provides all the necessities.
That means a positive work-out environment with a knowledgeable staff of
professionals and as many MMA classes as possible.

Commit to a strict workout routine

Neither
Chuck Liddell nor Randy Couture achieved what they have in the world of
MMA by spending all their free time on the PlayStation. They killed
themselves physically to achieve greatness. And this takes a firm
commitment to variety of often-brutal exercise disciplines. These
include regular gym workouts featuring bodyweight training, strongman
workouts that develop functional strength, combat core techniques and
isometrics exercises for stamina building.

Maintain proper diet

As
important as a strict workout schedule is to the pro MMA fighter, so is
a healthy diet. The ideal diet for those looing to build their body
into a fully functional MMA machine eliminates simple sugars completely
in favor of healthy salads free of oil. The ideal MMA diet is also heavy
on lean protein and complex carbohydrates. Examples of these include:

Chicken

Beans

Egg whites

Grains

Citrus

Potatoes

It’s also crucial to implement a diet routine that involves eating
smaller meals multiple times (4-7) a day, as this stimulates digestion
and metabolism. And it is of paramount importance to make one of thes4 a
complex carb-heavy meal about three hours before a workout routine.

Decide on a discipline

It’s
the natural inclination of the beginning MMA fighter to go charging in
headfirst and try to utilize as many forms of martial arts as possible.
While the enthusiasm is certainly welcome, it is best to choose a
primary focus as soon as possible. After all, most of these martial arts
disciplines are ancient art forms of combat. No one is going to learn
them all in a few months. The goal: choose one to focus on for months at
a time until proficiency has been achieved.

Find a coach

This
is easier said than done. Most gyms have combat coaches in some form or
another, but that doesn’t necessarily mean one size fits all. Finding
the right fit between trainer and student is a delicate dance, and the
two parties must mesh in order for the relationship to bear fruit. The
trainer needs to motivate and inspire his or her student, and this
trainer also need to be prime physical example of the power of effective
physical training.

Conclusion

Above
all a positive attitude is required on the part of the person looking
to get into the MMA game. The road to success is wrought with physical
challenges so demanding most mortals have neither the time nor
inclination to even give it a go. So if a person’s heart isn’t in it
right from the start, then he or she may want to forgo mixed martial
arts in favor of competitive checkers instead.

Anita Everhart is a professional blogger that enjoys providing fitness advice. She writes for East Coast United, a leading MMA training facility in the Bronx NY.

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